Super outpaces property by the widest margin in six years as housing wealth falls

• Super grew 5.2% in the June 2026 quarter while housing fell 0.3%, the largest outperformance since June 2020.
• Superannuation wealth reached a record $4.70 trillion and now represents 24.3% of total household net worth, up from 23.9% a year earlier.
• Super’s share of household wealth has doubled since 1989, growing from 12.5% to 24.3% over 37 years.
• Housing remains the larger asset pool at $12.2 trillion, approximately 2.6 times the size of super.
• Over 20 years, super has grown 4.37 times compared to 3.85 times for housing.
• All property, residential and commercial combined, makes up just 6.4% of assets in APRA-regulated super funds, down from 8.5% in June 2022.
• SMSFs hold more direct property exposure at an estimated 15.9% of assets, with commercial property at 10.4% and residential at 5.5%.
• From 10 August 2026, SMSFs can no longer take on new borrowing to purchase residential property, meaning residential exposure can only decline over time.
• ANZ forecasts a peak-to-trough fall of 10.6% in capital city property prices across 2026 and 2027, equivalent to roughly $1.2 trillion in lost wealth.
• Super would need to grow approximately 26% to offset a 10% fall in housing wealth, compared to this quarter’s 5.2% growth rate.

Superannuation has crossed a critical threshold as a wealth-holding mechanism independent of property markets. The sector now moves household net worth materially on its own, with limited direct exposure to residential property downside. The regulatory shift prohibiting new geared residential property in SMSFs signals a structural shrinking of super’s property holdings over time. Housing weakness and super strength operating simultaneously indicates the two asset classes are decoupling as wealth drivers, reshaping how Australian households build and retain assets.